


Phoenix

by librarius



Category: The Originals (TV)
Genre: Consensual But Not Safe Or Sane, F/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, OC, Phoenixes, Vampires, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-12 00:01:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7076098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/librarius/pseuds/librarius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mysterious woman saves Elijah from a witch trap, but there’s more to her than you imagine.</p><p>Set right after Season 2 (before Season 3 starts).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 

The first day in a new town was always the same to her: Getting the keys to whatever room she had rented, taking a look at the city map to get a feeling of what lies where, and then – just walking around. Letting herself drift to wherever her feet might lead her. Taking a rest at a random Café when she got tired and heading back to her room not before sundown.  
It had taken her a long time coming to New Orleans and she had planned on staying for two weeks before moving on to Port Fourchon for a date she couldn’t miss. After that she would decide where to go next. The past years had been filled with travelling and the globe in her head had almost no white spaces left.  
Walking the streets of the French Quarter – because where else would she have taken residence? – she breathed in the lively rush of people and the vibrant background noise of tourists eager to find all the places their guides told them to. Well, she had a list of things to do herself, but today she had all the time in the world.

When evening dawned, the tourist stumbled into a situation she hadn’t thought about. Of course, crime was an aspect of every place humans lived in, but usually you don’t find yourself right in the middle of one.  
The first thing she saw was a group of five women surrounding a man who lay on the ground, unconscious. First she thought they’d help or leave, but then she felt the change in the air. Those women were attacking the guy! Plus: It must be witches, for there was a sense of a spell in the air.  
The tourist decided in the blink of an eye. She had seen a lot until today, and she had never been able to stand an unfair battle. So she stepped into the alley and called: “Hey there. Leave the man alone.”  
The women turned to her and she could see them put two and two together. “It’s none of your business, lady. Move on”, one of them said. Her tone would have made any tourist leave. Maybe call for the police, also, but leave. Not her.  
"Really, the guy is down, there’s no need for further combat.” She got closer with confident steps, watching carefully. When she reached the man she couldn’t see any injuries, but that was the trick about witches, wasn’t it?  
One of them made a gesture with her hand and the tourist felt the air tighten around her. With a smirk she made it vanish. She looked right at the woman. “Don’t”, she said. “It won’t work.”  
The witch didn’t care and tried again. What the magic was supposed to do, the tourist didn’t know: It only reached the unseen wall around her, where it was consumed. The women smiled predatory: “I told you it wouldn’t work.” Then she took a deep breath, literally sucking up the power from the witch that still hadn’t stopped the attack. Through the connection of magic hitting the invisible wall, the tourist fed on the very energy of the witch herself. It only stopped when the attack was broken.  
The other four stared unbelieving.  
“You may back off. He is under my protection for now”, she said, including the unconscious man into her ring of protective fire. As soon as the circle was complete, he moved a bit, not gaining consciousness, but obviously whatever spell they had put on him was interrupted, if not broken. Witch magic could be broken by fire or water, all over the world.  
Nevertheless, they didn’t leave before trying to overcome her once more. All together they attacked. Again, she just took a deep breath, temporarily taking their powers off them. “I don’t wish to do you any harm”, she said. “I just can’t stand an unfair fight. Please. Stop.” Then she gave a wave with her hand and the invisible circle blew. It fell against the five witches like an ocean wave and disabled them for the moment.  
It wouldn’t last long, so she kneeled down besides the unconscious man, laying her hand onto his forehead. He felt very cold and looked unhealthy. _Drained_ , she thought. “Alright”, she mumbled, letting some of her protective fire warm her fingers on his temple, guiding him into almost-consciousness for a moment.  
“Where do you live?”  
Then she managed to get him onto a shabby canvas that was dangling from a waste container, for it would be easier to pull him to the main street than trying to lift and carry him the whole way. Back on the street, she managed to hail a taxi and left the unpleasant corner behind. The witches had disappeared anyway.

When the taxi arrived at his address, she sent it away and carried the still unconscious man towards the house. She would have admired the building if she hadn’t been busy not to stumble, and when she finally rang, she almost dropped the guy.  
A man opened, face going from annoyance into surprise.  
"Hello... I believe this man lives here?" She staggered. "Could you, please--", she added, but already got her weight roughly taken from her by the man who had opened. _He_ was physically able to lift the passed out weight with almost no effort.  
"May I..." she gestured inside, where he turned to take the other to.  
"Yes. You have to tell me what has happened." She entered on his footsteps, following him through to a living room, where the man was put onto the sofa. The other checked on him briefly before turning to her: "So?"  
Her gaze got up from the lying to the standing man. Then she took a seat, as he had impatiently gestured. There seemed to be no one else in the big house.  
"I happened to interfere when a group of witches attacked him", she summed it up. "They ran, and I picked him up."  
"Who was it?" He started to name witches, but she hadn't heard of any of them before.  
"I just arrived here. I live upstairs a bar." She handed him a matchbook with the address. "Tourist", she said excusing. "But I'll be here for two weeks, so in case you need an eye witness for the investigation – I have a good memory for faces."  
The man on the sofa gave a low moan. Both turned their heads.  
"I might leave you, to take care? Maybe a doctor would be good. I don't know what they exactly did to him." She got up and Klaus, too busy caring for his brother, let her leave.

The next evening, Elijah had decided to thank the woman, mostly because he needed to know how she had gotten rid of the witches. His memory on this was dazed and unrealistic and he couldn't just ignore what he thought to have seen: A witch breaking down the moment this woman took a deep breath right by his side. Why he had named Klaus’ address to her, he couldn’t say. Maybe Hope was the reason, or maybe being used to call that house a home, no matter recent events. He wouldn’t return today, though. Nor tomorrow nor any day soon, if not because of Hope only – the sole reason to return to the house after what Klaus had done. Until then, he had a place of his own.  
He found his savior in a single room that was rented to tourists like her.  
"Oh, hello." With a surprised look on her face, the woman invited him in to take seat on one of the chairs by the little window. "It's good to see you're alright. Will there be an investigation?"  
"Maybe there will be. Thank you for interfering yesterday. I would like to know what has happened." He sat down like he owned the room, but there was something about her that wasn't _tourist_ , or at least something that wasn't _naive tourist_. She had the calm manners of someone who had travelled and seen a _lot_. She closed the door and sat down as well.  
"Well... When I stumbled upon the situation, you were lying on the ground, and the five of them stood around you looking like they were planning to kill you." She huffed. "I can't stand people hitting on those brought down already."  
He leaned forward, crossing almost the whole desk. "What then."  
His eyes locked with hers and she suddenly felt the absolute urge to tell the truth. There she nodded. "I knew there was something about you", she said, look lighting up in the most unexpected way. She had seen similar things before and when he had knocked on her door just minutes ago, her sense of supernatural things had ticked.  
Then three things happened at the same time: A loud crashing sound from the street filled the room, the temperature seemed to be rising for a second – and the woman suddenly fell from her chair unconscious.  
Of course, he was fast enough to catch her from hitting the floor, but he laid her down right where she fell: Her skin felt like it was about to catch fire, heat radiating from her for the length of a heartbeat.  
The noise from outside was replaced by people screaming at each other when the moment was gone. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked right into his face in surprise. Then she got up slowly. Everything was back at normal when she sat on the chair again.  
"I'm sorry, I have that sometimes." She shook her head as if to make a thought go away. "Really sorry."  
He watched her cautiously, not saying a word, waiting for her to continue or explain.  
"Will you just take it from my mind", she said then. "I feel a bit weak now." Her gaze flickered feverish, as if she was close to fainting again. But she didn't. Instead, she took a sip of water, emptying the glass that had been there next to a city map.  
It was indeed easier to just take from her what he wanted to know – all the information would be there without the need of asking for details.

They sat there for quite a while, none of them saying a word.  
Elijah needed to process what he had just found in her memory. Whatever the witches had done wasn't revealed, but something else was: The woman really had taken the magic off the witch that had attacked her, when she told them to "leave the man alone". And she had also taken – more like _breathed in_ – the magic they had used on him after she had told them to back off for "he is under my protection for now". So his memory had been correct. Whatever that meant regarding her.  
"Now you", she said after a while in silence, looking at him openly.  
She had known him to be able to read her mind, so what did she want to know? He just looked at her. "I was overwhelmed", he said then.  
"That's not what I mean." She smiled. "You're an old soul, right? As well as your brother is."  
Elijah stared at her. _Old soul_ was something he hadn't heard before.  
She nodded knowingly. "Vampire", she said and it didn't sound like a question. It also didn’t sound judgmental. _And an original too_ , she thought. She hadn’t met such in quite some time.  
He nodded, slowly. In the back of his mind, he felt a flashback tickling. He fought it back. This was not the right moment, of all.  
"What are you?" he asked, for she was no vampire, nor werewolf nor witch nor anything he had seen before – and he had seen a lot, too.  
The temperature in the room rose again. "Bad time for a decent chat", she managed to say before her body started to shake as if in an epileptic seizure. This time he caught her and despite the burning heat took her to the small bed. The shaking took its time now, but he wanted her answer, so he waited. Her skin was feverish hot and she was unconscious, both remaining like this for minutes and minutes even after the spasms and the shivering had stopped.

When she finally opened her eyes again, her gaze was erratic. Heat was still radiating from her. "Hello, old soul", she said weakly, but smiling. "Have I passed out again." It wasn’t a question.  
"For about twenty minutes, yes. What's your name now, and what's wrong with you?"  
She looked pale and needed two failed attempts until she managed to get herself in a sitting position. She didn’t take his offered hand for help. The struggling against her condition was far from the confident intervention of yesterday. She breathed deeply. "Well, I rented the room as ‘A. Bennu’, but I don't really have a name. And the heat ... is something that happens to me, time after time. It’s nothing to worry about."  
"No name." He handed her a fresh glass of water. He’d had plenty of time to get it when she hadn’t been conscious.  
She nodded and took the glass thankfully.  
"So what are you? Really." He tried to influence her again. It didn't work, though.  
She sighed. "In short? A myth, in a way. In ancient Egypt there was a bird called _Bennu_ , which caught on fire in the morning sun, leaving an egg in the ashes from where a new _Bennu_ was born. Herodotus and the Greek later called it a _Phoenix_. They were both wrong about the bird part. But there are times of fire."  
Elijah stared unbelieving. Nevertheless, he still felt the heat from her skin filling the room, making her words sound credible. The tickling flashback tried to overcome him again. He fought it back once more.  
"You mean you're going to burn down the house."  
"I'm not. Fire Day is not here yet, and I have never set something ablaze by accident."  
"So you say you're a phoenix." His voice was calm, but curious. She understood that he was the calm kind of person. Presumably the thinking and thus very dangerous type of calm, but she very much preferred that to most other character types.  
"And you're an old soul. We’re both fairytales … vampire."  
"Elijah."  
"Elijah.” She smiled softly. “I like that."  
Before he could say any more, the flashback he had felt before came crushing in at full force. It made him back up from her, against the far wall which wasn't far enough, staring at her both hungrily and scared at the same time. Nevertheless, he couldn't leave. Her body heat had triggered something, or maybe the car crash half an hour ago had.  
On the bed, the woman watched him acting weird all at once. Then she saw the glance in his eyes. A big load of emotions, and instincts, the instincts taking over control, burning within him just like the upcoming time to burn did within her. She knew it was _very_ different with him, but she wasn't afraid anyway. She had seen similar things throughout her lives, and she was still there.  
Slowly she got up and closer to him, leaving the emptied glass on the table. As long as there was no madness seeping into that outburst of whatever kind, she could handle it, she knew. From her experience, she could also handle madness, but not too happily.  
The flashback had hit Elijah that hard, he sat with his back against the wall, fighting visions of the past mixing themselves with the present. He didn't even realize he sat on the floor. But he very much realized her coming closer. Through his inflamed vision of blood Elijah wanted her to leave, wanted to grab and bite and lacerate her, wanted to leave himself, but not down the stairs and onto the street full of people, with that animalistic _hunger_ and monstrous _need_ \--  
She kneeled right in front of him, still pale, still hot skinned and looking _weak_. Looking like the perfect victim. Prey.  
"Leave", he said, voice raspy. He could smell the oh so little amount of blood from the street as if it was all over the room, although there was none. Not yet.  
She shook her head. "I am not afraid."  
He tried to gain control, but he couldn't, he was close to --  
The woman took him by the shoulders, pressing his back flat against the wall with an enormous and unexpected strength. This time it was her eyes taking his. It couldn't calm him, though. The flashback was ignited by the blood on the street he hadn’t even recognized just minutes before, and kept running by not just the hunger and need, but also a massive amount of _anger_ breaking free. He could rip her in two right now.  
"Stop me", he begged, feeling the monster within cut loose. Then, suddenly, time stopped. She had done the one thing that would always stop him in his tracks: She had grabbed his heart right inside his own chest. The pain and the sheer surprise had frozen him. He could feel her fingers, and they felt dead cold. He couldn't turn his eyes off hers, nor could he think or talk, and barely breath. Everything had just stopped, even the monster within, and he would not have been surprised if the planet itself had stopped turning this very moment. At least, it felt like it. And the monster within, released by nothing that had triggered it that much ever before – it was gone. He still felt it, though, but in this very moment it was a mere dust cloud in a desert.  
When she withdrew her hand, Elijah was caught somewhere between the fading monster and the man he had always believed he was. He just stared at her, not thinking a thing, unable to break eye contact. His heart pounded hard against his ribcage.  
Then she licked some of his blood from her finger.  
The monster within snapped. All her unexpected strength couldn't keep him nailed to the wall anymore. In a rapid movement he – _it_ – stood, changing their positions, ready to take what it wanted. Her right arm held him at the smallest distance, blocking him from her face by the throat, while her bloodstained left hand was pressed against the wall by her side.  
She was uncommonly calm, heartrate increased just the slightest. "I won't die", she said low, and it was a promise to meet his angst that shone through the greed.  
The man overcame the beast for one more moment. "I am a monster", he said, unable to back off.  
She shook her head slightly, and stopped with it bowed just a bit, as if in consent. She also lowered her arm. "You're not. Let go if you like."  
It was nowhere near _like_ : He simply lost control. All of it. Bloodlust was all that was left of the man, and when he finally let go --  



	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She wiped her neck with her sleeve. The wound was ugly and the blood loss massive, but despite the mess she was alive. Elijah’s mind cleared, but he wasn't able to process that: She should at the least have gone down, fainted from being drained.  
Then he felt a burn that made him stumble and almost fall to his knees. She helped him stand, leaned against her body and the wall as he took short, hasty breaths.  
"It burns", he huffed against her skin, realizing it had already burned when he drank, but there had been no stopping him anyway. Now it felt like her blood filled his veins with liquid fire.  
She nodded and caressed his neck with a cold right hand, wisely leaving the bloodstained left one out of his sight. "It will fade", she said, trusting in his condition as an original vampire. His forehead rested against hers as he stared into her eyes, unable to move further.  
"What is that--?"  
"I told you I'm alike a Phoenix. And I am close to Fire Day."  


When he felt like he could act normal again, he needed to know more about this. Especially about why she hadn't died. The wound was healing already, leaving only drying blood as evidence behind.  
"I told you I would not die."  
"I don't die either, but there's always something." _White oak, for example._ But that was gone, fortunately.  
She shook her head. "That's the difference between us: You are immortal. I am eternal. I have my cycle of fire and rebirth, but I _cannot_ die. Trust me, I never did." And before he could ask: "And even in rebirth, I won't be turned as well."  
"Then why did you--"  
“Better here with me than out where real prey walks around“, she said. “The car crash brought some blood onto the street.“  
He realized she was right: There would have been dead. She had distracted the monster. But there was something else. She had stopped him at first, just to let him have his ways no more than a moment later.  
“That”, she said, laying her bloodstained hand onto his chest slightly, “was something I really enjoyed. I didn't see that coming. But then...“ Their eyes locked. “You asked me to stop you“, she said. “But that would not have been enough.“  
He understood before she said it: “The beast had to be released.“ Her voice was low on those words. “But it's not that horrific a monster as you think it is.“  
That sounded so _wrong_ to him, but Elijah knew what she meant. He had heard it before. It was no more than a part of him, locked away all too well. Even Klaus had come to terms with himself, now it seemed Elijah had to, too. Confront his demon, and no more locking it away. He felt calmed now like he had not in a long time. It didn’t last, though.  
The sight of her ruined neck made him feel but horrible. Self-hatred boiled within, hooking up with a thousand years of guilt. Her blood had burned like it was on fire; it had felt like dying from it. The ruined, guilty, and afraid part of him wanted this, wanted to die on that poison right away. _Right now._

He felt strangely relieved afterwards.  
The evening hadn't gone the way he had thought it would, but it had revealed a much more interesting mystery to him. Walking all the way home, Elijah still felt like some sort of fire was pulsating in his veins. Her blood had tasted and felt like dying the first time.  
But then a second time had followed, out of pain and self-hatred and a dying wish he couldn't even tell to himself. The beast within kept him from telling her, although he was certain she had seen it in his eyes. She had looked at him in a strange, _knowing_ way... The heat had boiled within his body, almost setting it ablaze. But it was not poisonous, not deadly. The monster within had gotten what it wanted, but with permission, and without a victim, without the horrific experience, the guilt. Without something to lock away.  
That's what was so good about it. She was alive.  
Turning his attention to yesterday's events, he thought about those. So, the Phoenix without a name had been there by chance. Whatever the witches had done, she had been there right place, right time. And she had the ability to _feed_ on the magic they used on her. And on that used on him as well, after she had set him under her protection. He had seen all that in her memory.  
_Her protection…_ She really had said that. And that had been the reason why they couldn't drain him anymore. He would not have died there, of course not, but he might have been taken out for a longer while than he actually was. And who knew what their further plans looked like. Davina might be behind it – or just any other unpleasant surprise, for his family seemed to summon bad luck. But right now, there was nothing he could do about that.  
The woman had set him under her protection. Whatever that meant, it was a fascinating riddle – _she_ was. And he felt he could need some distraction to not go insane until the next full moon. Being honest to himself, that specific distraction was one of a kind.  
Elijah decided to invite her out, tomorrow night. Maybe it was time to seek out new alliances. _Or blood boiling experiences._

The Phoenix resided under the name of “A. Bennu“ in the guest room, which was not very creative. She never was creative in the last fifth of her life cycle.  
Watching as life went on unimpressed by the evening's car crash on the road – people had been hurt, property had been damaged, remains had been cleaned off – she thought about Elijah, the vampire. The old soul she happened to literally stumble upon. Watching the rush of everybody else outside, she thought about what a funny coincidence that was. Meeting and fighting those witches must have triggered her date of fire, for she had thought it to be a longer time span until the precursors of it. Nevertheless, the moment was quite nice. She had not expected to meet an original vampire in the “witch queen of New Orleans”-city.  
The man was interesting – _very_ , to be true – and she had enjoyed their meeting a lot. The wild, the beast, and above it, mostly, control in a highly developed state. It was something to breathe in deeply. The passionate, angsty, despaired, and somehow _broken_ loss of control. The Phoenix hadn't met an interesting person in a far too long while. She certainly wouldn't fight a repetition. The intimacy of his beating heart and the lost control was exceedingly seducing.  
Coming back from a trip through the city, she found a note. Her temporary landlord had put it on the table when the room was being cleaned. It was a dinner invitation, for tonight. She would be picked up at nine. The card was handwritten and signed “Elijah“. Nine o'clock gave her two hours’ time to pick up something decent to wear and, most importantly, make sure not to faint from the upcoming Fire Day. Yesterday she hadn't been well prepared. Now, she just had to make sure her little trick would fit the occasion.

When Elijah arrived, she had just left her room. They went for a little walk through the streets, chatting about nonsense.  
“So you've never been to New Orleans before?“ he asked.  
“Not until now, no. But I like the city so far, especially the French Quarter. It's vibrant and the buildings are _wonderful_.“ A pendant on her wrist hissed almost unheard. Of course, he heard it despite the noise around. She gave an amused grin on his look. “I don't feel like fainting tonight, because of this“, she said and stopped to allow him a glance.  
“This is water“, he said.  
“It is. It will keep me cool – so where do we go to?“  
“What would you like?“  
“Anything you recommend. You live here, so I guess you know all the good places to be.“ She linked arms with him and let him guide her. She was right, of course.  
He found them a place that was cozy and chic, both at the same time, and asked for her ‘fainting habit’, as she had put it.  
“Usually I don't do that except when Fire Day is ahead. I wasn't prepared for it yesterday, for it's too early. The witch incident has triggered it. But now I am prepared anyway. You won't need to catch my burning figure tonight.“ She winked at that.  
“Too bad. I thought I might learn a lot more about you that way.“  
“You can learn whatever you like about me if you just ask the right questions. As I will, too, I hope?“  
“We will see.“ They clinked glasses and he watched another little cloudlet escape her pendant. “What happens when the water is gone?“  
She looked at it briefly. “We could jump into the Mississippi“, she suggested. “No, really: When the water is gone I simply need new of it. Or share the heat with something else. Fire Day won't occur until the day after tomorrow, as far as I can tell.“  
“Fire Day.“ She had called it that every time.  
She grinned.  
“Do you really burn to ashes“, he asked.  
“In a way, yes. Usually there is no one to tell me about it afterwards. From my experience, it's this: I start burning from the inside to the outside, I lose my consciousness, and when I wake up there is ash on the ground all around me. I don't hatch from an egg, I'm grown up and as far as I can remember I even have the same body and clothes. I usually sit amidst the ash for a while to gather my memory while the fire leftovers vanish. Then another cycle is done. Or has started – whatever comes first.“  
“And how often do you burn“, he went on. No matter his experiences of _burning_ from inside, he knew now that he would like to see it happening. And if it was just to see if she was right. If she really didn't burn a thing, and where the ash came from. He had found information on phoenixes, but nothing reliable. Herodotus, for example, whom she had mentioned yesterday.  
“How often...“ She thought about it. “It's difficult to say, because the time span varies. It's been 400 years, 500 … One time, it was almost 1,500 years. But I felt _very_ weary then. I don't know how the time span comes about.“  
“Where did you burn then? After 1,500 years. If you’ve never been here before…“  
She laughed. “You might have heard about it – but believe me, it wasn't my fault: Pompeii.“  
He looked at her thinking of a certain historical event.  
“Yes“, she nodded. “Volcano day. You may trust me: It was the shock of my life when I came back to my senses. But I didn't cause it. Vesuvius began growling right before I burned. And it wasn't done when I was already gone. But the amount of ashes back then... Well. It was a _lot_.“  
“I believe that“, he said, thinking. The woman had just claimed an enormous age, even for his scale. As had her choice of words: _Vesuvius_ , Latin.  
“So, how about you? I hope you don't sleep in a coffin?“  
“There's one in the cellar, but I prefer a proper bed.“  
“That is very appeasing.“ She gave a content smile.  
“Are there other phoenixes in the world?“ he asked. What he had found in the short time of research had not mentioned a number of phoenixes. Most of the authors actually only told about _the_ _phoenix_ , singular.  
The woman shrug. “I don't know. I never met one. But, well... You know, usually I'm much less noticeable than a werewolf or a vampire might be. And even they – _you_ – are not seen as something that _really exists_. By normal people, I mean. So there could be others, or it is just me. In the end, it doesn't make a difference.“  
“Don't you feel lonely after such a long time?“  
“I do. But what can I do about it? I'm around even longer than you are. Nothing I've met has survived for too long. At least, not in my scale. In fact, you're the first interesting person I've met and might care about in this cycle.“ _Or the next, I guess_ , she added in her mind. There really were not that many interesting people or creatures in the world to really care about because usually, they all died far too soon.  
Her openness was overwhelming to him. She obviously didn’t see any need in keeping secrets, or at least it seemed so. He better be careful, but whatsoever, he liked their date so far.  
“I guess, eternity is okay if you have family around“, she mused. “I am more like a scholar. I travel when I get bored. I watch. I don't get involved, because things will change that much, and that fast, and people live and die anyway. Except for things I despise, of course.“ She nodded to him. “I didn't know you were special the very moment I stumbled upon you.“  
“When _did_ you know?“  
She thought about it. “In retrospect, the witches were suspicious, and latest when I met your brother. But I didn't realize it then. I had a feeling of curiosity, but didn't go for it, because first I was busy and then I just didn’t think about it. So... yes. I _consciously_ realized it when you stood in my door.“  
He was curious about how long her current ‘cycle’ lasted but decided it would be a quite impolite question. Instead, he got back to the before mentioned topic: “Family can be difficult, too“, he said for – to her – no obvious reason at all. She didn’t know it, but recent events lurked in the back of his mind.  
“Of course it can be. People tend to be … well, just people. No matter how old they get. They argue, they fight, they do each other wrong. But if they stick around, it's a nice way to waste time, I guess.“  
There she was right. Elijah tried to imagine his life without his siblings. _Forever._ Then he decided to change the topic. “What did you _do_ to the witches?“  
“Fire. Witch magic can be broken by water or fire. And I literally _am_ fire.“ She blew out the candle, made sure nobody was watching, and just breathed to it with an amused sparkle in her eyes. The candle lit up again immediately. “I had a transcendental circle of fire around myself. When witch magic hits it, I can feed on it. And I can include others in it.“  
“Am I still included?“  
“Right now? No. Would you like to be?“ She grinned. “You wouldn't feel it, though.“  
He thought about it. With her age and abilities, lighting a candle probably was the easiest thing to do. But it obviously didn't go well with other kinds of magic. Burning things to end magic being used on them might not be the means of choice. He shook his head in denial. “Probably not.“  
She shrugged. “Okay.“ Then she asked why he had taken her out.  
“I was curious about you after yesterday.“  
“So was I“, she replied. “I would not fight a repetition, to be honest.“

They ended up in said repetition, for Elijah couldn't resist the thought of learning more about the burning fire that was her blood. He also couldn't resist yesternight's desperate death wish, although he knew it wouldn't come true – the feeling was so intense, he couldn't stop longing for it. He stayed at her place all night. Sharing the heat. Wasting time. Letting loose the leash, the beast within. The Phoenix – _his_ Phoenix – could meet it all. That was fire. Fire within him. And sharing the burn really made her bracelet and pendant obsolete.  
He knew she would leave the city soon. She had told him over dessert: “A bird has to fly, and am I not said to be a bird?“ Maybe, when some years will have passed, she might return. Or at least get a phone.  
But right now, it didn't matter at all. She was a distraction of a kind, and in a way needed. They were here, both, and they burned like the sun, ruining their clothes, her neck and more, leaving stains on the floor and furniture and bed. She made his heart skip a beat with her bare cold hand buried in his chest just the way he begged her to, and he took away her breath, feeding on her like a wild animal.  


Exploring the city the next day, the tourist found a very fine built wooden Orange lily she liked. Those flowers were her favorites – no wonder, regarding their other name: Fire lily. She sent it to Elijah’s real address he had told her last night, with a note saying “Waste time & watch me burn. Midnight to morning. Pick a place with no people but a nice view of dawn. Phoenix”. Why not stick with this name, fitting perfectly, they’d decided yesternight.  
He _did_ pick the perfect place for both: Wasting time was best at his place, to where he took her when picking her up at the bar at exactly midnight. She liked it, he could tell from her approving look when she took in the place. He realized how much in order everything was here, how every single thing had its place. _Order on the outside, chaos inside_ , he thought.  
Her note, Elijah had placed on the table. When sitting down on the sofa, he took the wooden flower, asking: “Is that your heraldic plant?”  
“It probably would be if I had a coat of arms. But since I don’t, I just like them by their name.” She chuckled and took it from him, setting it back onto the table. With her hand on his chest, she felt for his heartbeat. The wooden flower lit up a bit, gleaming like in sunlight, then ended up having a delicate pattern burned into the petals. It looked like lava.  
“That’s pretty”, he said, leaning forwards to take a closer look. “What is the pattern?”  
“Your beating heart.” She smiled, softly, but predatory. It made his heartrate increase.  
“Will you burn it”, he asked, and to her questioningly raised eyebrow, adding: “Both?”  
“If you wish.” She grabbed him by the knot of his tie, pulling him up almost roughly and pushing him against the nearest wall right away. He felt the beast within growl in anticipation. Taking her face in both hands, he pulled her in for a mind wasting kiss. Hunger arose, all-consuming and wild.  
“Burn me”, he breathed, tucking on the fabric of her blouse. Her skin was hot against his and when her cold fingertips travelled up his spine underneath his unbuttoned shirt, Elijah’s mind inflamed – just like the wooden flower on the table. He heard it go up in flames just like he did, letting go of the last strings that had control over him. In fact, it was no letting go but rather getting overrun by need and instincts and the beast cutting lose again, throwing away and trampling down every last bit of control.  
Phoenix got the whole package: man and monster, sex and bites and blood. She bit his lip, pouring blood and thus releasing the beast for good.  
The shivering and shaking of afterwards getting back to the self Elijah had always told himself to be was pain- and angst-driven, but aided by her holding and soothing him until it stopped. That was it, all of him, nothing locked away, and all welcomed by the mysterious woman that could stand it. Everything was perfectly okay that very moment. The agony of the soul eased, faded into the dark. Elijah was lost and found at the same time, in a poise of peace and no thoughts at all. He could be floating in space as pure matter – there would hardly be a difference this moment.

They talked through the night, staying hugged and caressing, not about recent events, but about him – his emotional state, and the way he perceived himself, especially those different parts of himself. It was all about the man and the monster, about the weight of time and the feeling of eternity. Some of that he never ever even had words for, but now here they were, and the words were there, too, and it was all because of the eternal creature right next to him. Comprehension seeped through worded thoughts and calmed the pain and the angst. Immortality came with a load of side-effects less philosophical minds wouldn’t be able to see.  
Elijah knew she would leave after her two weeks’ visit to the city. She wouldn’t change her mind and plans. Phoenix would also not go to Port Fourchon, for that had just been the plan for Fire Day – which was about to happen ahead of schedule. She would go on about her business as well as Elijah would, but due to their longevity they already accorded on meeting again someday. “There’s a story to you”, she said, “and I won’t interfere. I’m a distraction for a moment, not meant to stay but to follow my own path. Just like you are, just like you _will_. But we will meet again, some day.”  
Basically, they both had all the time in the world.

He took her to a worn former factory site that was closed up to the public and had a nice view onto the river and the dawning day. As the light crept towards the horizon, he felt the air around her crackling and hissing. Her pendant gave up, drained and useless, and she hadn’t been wearing the bracelet tonight.  
“This is a very nice place to burn”, she said and looked at him thankfully.  
He wondered if he could touch her during the process, but didn’t get the opportunity to try: As soon as the sun was seen above the horizon, she caught fire in a blaze that flung him a good ten meters away. He landed hard on his back, but stayed there, watching what she had described to him before.  
The Phoenix’ body really seemed to burn from inside outwards. Just standing there, face to the rising sun, she didn’t seem to be in pain – although he cringed by the thought of it. He had his own experiences on burning. Hers obviously were completely different. When the fire was all over her, she broke down on her knees, body relaxing as if she had fallen asleep, but still burning. The fire lasted as long as the sun needed to rise completely above the horizon. Then it faded like it had no more material to consume.  
Phoenix was on the ground, on her knees and sitting on her feet. Ash was around her within a radius of a meter or two. Her hands laid in it.  
Elijah realized that the ash had appeared whilst the fire faded out.  
Nothing happened for a moment. Then she lifted her head, still facing the sun. Her hands wandered through the ash by her side, swirling it up a bit in a motion as if she was thinking about something. He could hear her taking deep, meditation-like breaths, and her heart beating in the calmest rhythm of ease.  
Only when she finally turned her head to look at him and said “Hello, old soul”, he walked closer. The ash seemed to vanish by her touch. Not wanting to interfere with the process, he stopped at the rim of the ash circle. Her breath was slow and deep still.  
When she finally got up, nothing remained of the events. She came to him, who still stared unbelievingly. “I could handle a hug now – I’m feeling a bit weak.”  
Elijah took her into a gentle hug, feeling nothing but normal human body heat radiate from her. When she looked up, asking: “What was it like?”, he had no answer.  
“I think I need to think about it.”

It was interesting for her, hearing about her Fire Day from an eyewitness. Her description to him had been quite right. He wondered where the ash went to, for she had touched it but wasn’t dirty at all.  
“I don’t know”, she said. “But to me, it’s like touching the ash is remembering. Like I’ve lost some of my memories during the fire and taking it back by the ash.” She grinned. “That would also be quite _funny_ ”, she added. Especially because she had prepared a little gift for him.  
She would need the day to regain her usual strength, Phoenix said then. “See – I can’t even light a candle!” That was true. Her _feeling a bit weak_ was not just a minute of weariness, but obviously a state brought by the fire. It had consumed her energy.  
Elijah offered her to stay at his place, but she declined: “Let’s get wild again when I’m back with my strength – which will be soon enough, _old soul_.” She grinned. “Give me a few hours’ rest without that seductive vampire within reach and we’ll both be fine.”  


A week later, when she left – they had met and gone _very_ wild a few times in between – they didn’t meet to say good-bye, because things had gotten busy for Elijah. Understanding that, she left a note for him, and a little package. Within it were two very small screw-capped test tubes filled with ash, a matchbook from the bar and a note saying: “For summoning a fire”. He looked at the note for a long musing while, then put it all into a metal box. He told nobody about it.

 


	3. Bonus Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Chapter, as further requested
> 
> Set in a far future.

Years later, Elijah found the test tubes with the matchbook and the note in their little box and remembered. He thought about it for a while, then decided to try "summoning a fire".  
By the day, he had come to terms with the past and himself and he wondered how it came he hadn't thought about her and her role in his ... development. Until today. Yes, he would try it out: Thinking and remembering caused a certain desire for her, although almost a century had passed. He wondered if she was still the same, and what she had gone through over the last sum of decades. The world had changed fast, but the city had remained, taking care of its history. In fact, New Orleans had made all the right choices about modernization and restoration. Phoenix would like it, as did he.  
He took the box to the table, sitting down in front of it, rereading the note. It said no more than that: "For summoning a fire". The matchbook had something written over the matches’ wood. He had not opened it before and so this note had remained secret. It said "keep the tube".  
Elijah remembered the intensity of fire and lust – and angst – he’d had back then with Phoenix, when opening one of the test tubes and lighting up a single match. They still worked. _Can ash burn?_ he asked himself, then decided not to pour it out of its tube. He simply put the match into it, where it kept burning. Watching the ash vanish with the heat, he thought of losing control to her. He remembered the desperation he had been in, back then. So many things had happened in the meantime, but there was a longing within he hadn't realized before the box was in his hands again: A longing to taste her, and to _burn_ again with her.  
The match burned down and when it was, the ash had gone. Just a black skeleton of the match itself remained. Nothing else had happened. No winds, no thunder, no knock on the door. If it was magic, he hadn't done it the right way. On the other hand, the woman was not a witch. He shook his head, put the empty tube into his pocket out of habit and went for his business. Maybe he would ask a witch how to use the other.

Not even a day later, an "A. Bennu" checked into her old room above the surprisingly still existing bar. It was free by chance, and she thought it an appropriate idea to use the same name and the same room for nostalgia. Sitting down on the bed she took in the room. Out of curiosity, she sent a little rush of transcendental fire through it, revealing a few leftovers of bloodstained nights of a kind. They were invisible to the human eye for she had taken care of them back then, but some remains would always persist where furniture had not been replaced.  
She smiled in memorizing the events, then got up to stand by the window. Looking down onto the streets still glistening from the morning rain, she reached out with her senses. Elijah probably was somewhere her ash was, too, and maybe – just maybe – she would also still recognize him by something else: He had burned from her and maybe that had left a stain, too. She _had_ been able to track him when his life was at stake many years ago, but that had been different and caused by the characteristics of fire. He didn’t remember it though, and it would not work this time.  
Breathing almost meditational, she let her senses just flow. Not long, and she knew where the remaining ash was. And yes, he had kept the other tube. The littlest remains in the cap were enough for her to track it down, and since the glass was moving through the city, she was sure to find him in no time.

He hadn't heard her come in, but felt well-known chills run down his spine when warm ghost fingers gently touched his neck. “Hello, old soul.” When he turned around, she was really there: Phoenix, standing in the doorway in a light summer dress, smiling softly.  
Elijah went to meet her halfway, taking both her hands in his, but then just pulling her in for a hug. Her fingers – her real fingers – trailed along his neck, then grabbed his hair, pulling playfully. The other hand lingered loosely on his waist, while she asked in the lowest voice: "Have you missed me?"  
Heat ran through his veins when he ended the hug to look at her face. Instead of an answer, he took it in both hands and kissed her deeply. The same instincts that had taken control the last time, did again. Without breaking the kiss, he took her with him, just a few meters, to the nearest wall to support their passion. They had each other’s clothes open in no time and Phoenix wrapping her legs around his waist right when they had reached the wall. "I want you", he breathed, just before they became one panting ball of lust and limbs, unaware of the rest of the world.

“Good I’ve waited for a more private place to be at“, she grinned against his neck afterwards, still being held up against the wall by him. “What a scandal this might have been.”  
He let her down gently, but not yet backing off. Still pressing her against the wall with his trembling body, he couldn’t get enough of her touch.  
“How did it work?” he asked after a while, guiding her to the couch.  
“The ash is a part of me”, she said. “Collected on Fire Day, but not burned. I counted on it being connected with me, and I was right.”  
“I am glad you were.” And after a while, he lowly added: “Will you stay?”  
She huddled against him, fingers painting invisible patterns onto his skin. “I have not thought about it yet, just had to see you. But if you like I could, for a while.” She bit him gently. “See how things go.”  
Elijah breathed out relieved and excited all at once.  
“I’ve come to terms with myself”, he told her.  
“The inner beast?”  
“Yes.” He had been able to accept and handle the more monstrous parts of his nature.  
“But…? I hear a _but_.” She laid her hand onto his arm.  
“ _But_ you are seductive. I feel like an addict on a relapse right now: I want you, in every way possible. And I don’t want to ever stop.”  
She got herself into an almost straddling position. “I know what you mean. I want you. And I don’t care about your relationship to the monster you _can_ be – I love you to unbind it all. If I can have it, I want all of it: the man and the monster.” Her hand laid on his chest, feeling his heart beat faster.  
“That’s the addiction I mean.” His breathing had already quickened.  
“So let go”, she said in a low, tempting voice that set him on fire ultimately.


	4. Update: more bonus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another bonus chapter, as even further requested
> 
> Warning: romantic overload, set in the same far future as Chapter 3. Just a bit later.

He was afraid to let her in, but the need to have her around was overwhelming. It beat the fear, and knowing she was practically invincible helped a lot, psychologically. Elijah decided it was time for him to be happy, and Phoenix was all he longed for, all he craved, well aware that she really was _there_. He asked her to meet his siblings, fully aware of everything that meant. He was already in too deep – but so was she.  
So finally, his siblings should know about it. Nevertheless, he was prepared for the worst, and had an agenda in mind like he always had: One step ahead, at the least. Phoenix approved. She very much liked the calculating intellect of his. In fact, living for that long a time as they did, you naturally become a bit cold-blooded. There were different kinds of it, though. Elijah was, to her, one of the less horrific and one she could connect with.

Rebekah arrived early, so she had to wait for the two of them to show up.  
After meeting the woman her brother was so fascinated of, and watching them for a while, she had to ask something: “Did my brother just say he _needs_ you?” She had heard him say that in a very passionate – and seemingly _physically_ occupied – way before. Since, she had tried not to think of the pictures it had created. Her brother’s love life was none of her detailed interest.  
“It’s not about _need_ , I think”, Phoenix said.  
“Lust”, Elijah said. “She is making me _burn_ , like a drug.” He laid his hands onto her shoulders and looked at his sister openly.  
There was a glance in his eyes Rebekah hadn’t seen with him for quite a while, if ever. She also was confused about the surprisingly open answer. For all the time now, she wasn’t used to him talking about his feelings. Not at all, and especially not that way. She looked at him closely. There was honesty, but something more also… Yes. There it was: A lie. Probably even to himself. Her dear brother had decided that after centuries it finally was time for him to be happy, but _not_ out of lust alone. _Liar._ Rebekah smiled understanding.  
After all, if he was happy, she’d not begrudge it to him. He needn’t tell her. She was a little nervous about Klaus, though.

Klaus’ research had found him an ancient text describing the differences between vampires and the phoenix. The text was a translation by a Persian witch, the original lost uncounted centuries ago. Ignoring the fact that it also meant that his family were not the first ever vampires in the world, he had read the few words again and again:  
_“The vampire might be immortal, but he can be killed. He is created by something and he dies by something. Not so the Bennu, the fire-born Phoenix. Eternal it is, as the fire of the sun. The Phoenix can share her strength, and thus may save the immortal as the mortal, hide them from death if she will. If for eternity, nobody knows. But maybe one day it will be worth a try.”_  
A text from the time of the Roman Empire’s fall also spoke about the phoenix, but Klaus didn’t think it as useful:  
_“The phoenix has golden feathers that blind like the sun. He can fly and burn even the gods and goddesses. His flame cannot die by water or wind or earth, for it is not of this world. The phoenix burns down he who tries to keep him caught.”_  
Another one was interesting again, although the author later burned himself thinking he would be reborn from his own ash. It had not worked:  
_“Just like the world unknowingly knows that werewolves and vampires might exist, it knows that the firebird is just a legend and a mix-up of nature and religion._  
_Something that might exist makes people find ways to kill it. Save by wooden sticks and silver bullets from the creatures of the night, garlic and knotted ropes and songs by the fire. Something that is just a dream because of the sheer impossibility of its existence would not make people think of ways to save themselves from it._  
_There is no way to be save from the firebird. But there is no firebird lurking in the shades as well. Only, what if?_  
_What if?”_  
Klaus wondered if Elijah knew more about all of this. He didn’t trust the woman, so Elijah was either blind or knew much more than what Klaus had been able to find. He was going to confront the woman about her plans.

“I know you”, Elijah’s little brother told Phoenix plainly. He must have waited here to talk to her in the privacy of an empty hallway.  
She smiled gently and said, “Yes, we’ve met.”  
Klaus nodded sternly. “So how _did_ you get rid of the witches attacking my dear brother back then? Before so selflessly bringing him home.”  
Her patience knew no end, when she said: “I was just interrupting a seemingly unfair battle. That can put people off. So I distracted them by ending their spell with my fire. But I didn’t know whom I was bringing home. I would have done that for anybody.”  
“And bewitched them.” He made a disgusted face of clearly not trusting her. But in the end, she had known he would be exactly like this: angry and paranoid. He seemed to actually think she had bewitched Elijah.  
“Not as far as I know.” she just said.  
“Then how comes you’re here, after such a long time, having him twisted around your finger?”  
She gave one little sigh. “I’ve been travelling, but now I’m back, and I’m planning to stay for as long as we both like. Have you never experienced interest in something that was still there after a while of not having it?” She was gravitated towards Elijah like to a massive magnet. They seemed to fit like hand and glove, nowadays even more than back then when they were but a distraction for each other, a relief to inner pressure.  
“And you think you’re the right person to make him happy.”  
That was interesting, but she wouldn’t fall into the trap. “I think it’s _his_ decision.” Her voice stayed calm and soft. “If he likes me, it’s all right. I am not planning on harming him in any way. So you don’t need to worry. There will be no agony caused by me.” She saw a flicker in his eyes and immediately knew Klaus remembered himself causing grief and anger more than once. “And I won’t die”, she added, voice gone low.  
“What are you”, the hybrid demanded to know. He looked as if he’d like to slash at her – and he probably struggled to keep himself from doing so.  
Phoenix’ voice was as calm as before, when she said just the one word: “Fire.” And because he clearly needed proof, she did as promised to Elijah: Every single candle in the hall went out – and back on in a bit of a blaze just a blink of an eye later. Into the fallen silent stare of Klaus, she said: “I did not bewitch Elijah. We just met and it clicked. Then we went on with each our business for a while. Now we met again, and found out it fits even better than before. I will not take your brother from you. I will not interfere with any family business. I will not let him down. And whatever you may think or do: I don’t care, except he does.”  
That said, she simply turned to leave him in the hallway and get back to the dinner table. She didn’t know if the others had heard any of their conversation, but she was pretty sure they’d be a bit wary by now. Klaus had held her off longer than just by chance. He had very clearly waited to have that talk.  
Phoenix was stopped in her tracks by Klaus’ hand on her throat, pressing just a bit more than necessary. “If you hurt him, I’ll rip your heart out.”  
Now she allowed herself to react a bit more explosive than needed, because Klaus better knew clearly what he was dealing with. In an unexpectedly fast move, she changed positions, caging the taller man against the wall. Fire was in her eyes, candles in the near compass melting. “You may take this as a vow, Klaus: Ditto.”

Back at the table, she caught a wary look by Elijah, to no surprise asking: “Is everything alright?”  
She nodded, smiling. “It is. Your brother just told me he’d rip out my heart if I ever hurt you. I think that’s lovely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, isn’t that romantic?  
> Of course, ever since Elijah has come to terms with the beast inside (whenever that might have been), he lost the death wish of her grabbing his heart. That gets it back closer to sanity I believe.
> 
> Needed to add this.  
> Hope you liked it!  
> Now I’ll go and watch season 3, hoping “Phoenix” didn’t ruin the canon … too much.


End file.
